Understanding Ditch Lights
In this blog, we’re going to be talking about ditch lights. They’re super fun and easy to understand. Ditch lights are the lights right below the windshield, right on top of the hood. Often, people angle these out to have nice, wide periphery coverage. Many like to run them in a combo or a spread beam to give even more width to the light.
Why Ditch Lights
Now, let’s examine the specific reasoning for these style lights. We will start by discussing their very name. Why did they get the name Ditch Lights? They may instead be referred to as A-pillar lights or cowl lights. You point them out to see the sides of the roadways, also known as the ditches, which is why people refer to them as ditch lights. That’s why they can be very important to your off-road adventures.
Location and Aiming
So, now that we know the name, where are they actually located on the vehicle? That’s the next big question. They are going to be right above the hood, right below the windshield, right in this location. (See images below.) That’s a ditch light. The next big points for ditch lights are how to aim them and what beam patterns to use. This is a bit subjective. What I personally like to do and recommend to many people is to take those ditch lights and turn them out to the sides. This lights up the ditches and the sides of the road better, giving you a lot more horizontal coverage.
2021 Bronco A-Pillar Light Kit with a set of 360 Spot and a set 360 Drive Lights / KC Hilites 6 in Pro6 Gravity LED – Pillar Mount – 2-Light System – 20W Spot Beam – for 18-20 Jeep JL
Beam Patterns and Usage
While you’re at it, you can also gain even wider, more horizontal coverage by using a combo or a spread beam light. This is totally different from a spot beam, which is intended to be narrower but also go further. The name of the game for these is not distance but to turn them out to the sides using a nice wide pattern of light for maximum coverage. The real reason for these is when you’re driving on tight, twisty forest service roads. You want to look where you’re turning before you turn, which is natural for all of us. These ditch lights give you that light exactly where you need it when getting ready to turn. The same applies when you’re in the dunes, in your Can-Am, with lights mounted right there. When you’re at the top of a peak and need to see where to turn back downhill, you have that light where you need it.
Conclusion
So when you are out in the backcountry, in rough terrain, or just out on a night drive on a back road, ditch lights will help you navigate the terrain with ease.